The Old Gate

As the third gate in our walk through the Christian life, and in the act of rebuilding this is a key gate. All the gates speak of what we need to put into our lives and this is no exception. You may well ask, why do we need something old when we are looking to build something new?

Nehemiah 3:6

6. Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

Whenever we lose sight of the old ways, trouble raises its head.

Judges 2:8-10

8. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
9. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
10. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

Joshua followed Moses as leader of Israel. When he died there was a power vacuum. The entire generation failed to pass on their old ways to the next generation and the results were catastrophic for Israel. The same happened time and again with Israel. For some reason we think that a new generation needs new ideas, but the truth is that the old ways are the best when it comes to God’s ways.

Proverbs 22:28

28. Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

Jesus himself confirmed that the Old Testament is as important as any other part of scripture.

Matthew 5:17-18

17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

But this gate was also set at the corner of the wall, and known as the corner gate.

2 Chronicles 26:9

9. Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.

Looking at the secondary name of this gate, the corner gate, we see another parallel that backs up laying the firm foundation of the Old Testament.

Acts 4:10-12

10. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The corner gate, and the corner stone are key in any building work, and Jesus himself is the corner stone of our lives. That corner stone is all about foundations.

Ephesians 2:19-20

19. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

If we stand on the foundations that have been laid of old, we will stand strong, and Jesus gave us that link between the Old Testament law, as brought by the prophets, and the New Testament promise as witnessed by the disciples.

Team Valladolid - Baker News

Easter is past and life gets back to normal.

We have just finished an incredible week in Valladolid. It was Semana Santa (Holy week). Our city is very conservative and it was on display last week. We have many Catholic churches and inside of them they have images of Jesus, Mary and various saints. During holy week these are brought out and paraded through the city. Thousands of people fill the streets to get glimpses of these statues. They are focused and sober, paying homage to these depictions of the life of Christ.

The people carrying these life-sized idols many times are covered with robes and barefooted. They wear KKK style hoods to hide their identity. This is a sign of penance and humility. We heard some say that they prepare all year for these parades.

From our point of view our hearts are heavy. The Catholic Church has blinded the minds of our people and they follow ignorantly. Satan smiles as a depiction of our Lord and Savior is paraded through the streets beaten, bruised and nailed to a cross. The images of him are always depicted in agony and defeat while Mary is beautifully adorned.

We are encouraged! I know the above sounds dark and difficult, but we serve a RISEN Savior. The power of the resurrection is flowing through us into the streets of Valladolid. God has given us many opportunities to share His light and glory! We believe that it is only a matter of time before people begin to see that their church does not provide the hope that is in us! We love our people! We have even befriended and are praying for priests within the C.C. We have been asking God to give us an Apollos! In Acts 18:24 this guy shows up and is described as eloquent and mighty in the scriptures. He was a Jew that only had part of the story. Pauls disciples take him aside and give him the rest of the story. He reminds me of a priest in the C.C. Pray with us that God would lead us into the path of an Apollos!

We would like to plan an event for next Easter to take advantage this week. We were thinking that possibly a street drama team could come and help us. If you know of a church or group that might be interested pass on their details to me and we can start planning.

Each of our team members has begun meaningful relationships with Spaniards. These are exciting times! We have started the process of inviting people to read Gods word. I told you before about our language teacher Alberto and my challenge to him to read the bible. A few weeks ago he told me he started reading it! Please pray that God would speak to him.

Marvin and Heidi are making friends and sharing the gospel with families in their apartment building. Pray for Ana and Luis. She is now reading the gospel of John.

Luke has joined a choir and has had numerous opportunities to share his faith. Pray for Miguel who has taken to Luke and is curious about his faith.

Ally and I are still learning Spanish and enjoying the challenge. We meet each Friday afternoon with several ladies all who want to learn English. We meet for coffee and exchange language. We can’t wait until our language ability is sufficient to share our faith. Pray for Anabel, Isabel and Valle.

We also meet every Wednesday night at local café/bar for a Bible study. We ask that you pray with us as we invite people to join us. Sarah, one of the ladies in Luke’s choir has said she would join us.

Brian Villarias has arrived in Valladolid to join our team. Brian comes from Washington State. He was previously involved with the Traveling Team and World Vision. Pray for his quick cultural adjustment and language learning. We are seven now and still await the arrival of Justin and Amy. Pray for their support to come in soon.
Thank you again for all your prayers and support. We are blessed to have you all on our team!

It’s all for Him,

Steve & Ally

Completing the task

Are there things in your life that you know God has given you to do that have not been completed?

AEM Prayer Update

Please pray for:

Albania

For Vali, a member of the Gjirokastër church. Her husband Pellumb died very
recently of liver cancer. Praise God that he expressed faith in Christ shortly
before he died.
For the follow-up meetings to the Easter ‘shoe-box’ distribution. While there
were restrictions on what could be said in the schools to those who received
the gifts, it was possible to invite everyone to an evangelistic meeting in each
area. These were well attended even necessitating two meetings in Gjirokastër.
Now, further meetings are planned.
For the memorial service to be held in Shkodra on May 25th for Pastor Dritan
Prroj. Pray that his ongoing testimony will continue to bear fruit in that
community.
For Pastor Klodi in Berat. I have limited information to share at the moment
but believe this faithful brother to be in need of support and prayer.

Kosova

For Christian women who are afraid to attend fellowship meetings or who
go to some lengths to conceal their whereabouts (when they do attend) from
unbelieving husbands.
For the possibility that a missionary couple will be moving to the town of
Kamenicë to continue the outreach there and hopefully plant a church.

Macedonia

For Halil and family who are responding warmly to the gospel and to the
friendship of Niko and Monda.
For Herbert and Patricia, missionaries from El Salvador who are seeking
accommodation and plan to settle in Tetova. This is a largely Albanian and
Muslim town that has been notoriously resistant to the gospel in the past.

UK

For the "Liria e Vërtetë" outreach to Albanian people living in London.
This will be on Saturday May 14th at Monnow Road Baptist Church in
Bermondsey and the speaker is Sali Rahmani. Pray that people will come in
to hear the gospel.

The Fish Gate

This gate is a clear picture of evangelism. While the sheep gate represented salvation, and to an extent therefore also evangelism, the fish gate far more so. The first thing that new believers will do is tell people what has happened in their lives.

Nehemiah 3:3-5

3. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
4. And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.
5. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.

The classic connection between fish and evangelism is of course the call of Jesus to make his disciples fishers of men.

Matthew 4:18-20

18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

There are, however other pointers in these verses that also speak of evangelism. Firstly, the pricks, of the gospel
The builders of this gate were the sons of Hassenaah. Hassenaah means to prick, or to goad. When the spirit of God begins to prod at someone’s heart it is only a matter of time before they give in to the touch of the Lord. All too often we see evangelism as a task for us to perform, but whilst we do have to speak the words, it is Christ himself who is the only one who can change hearts. Especially hardened hearts.
In Acts we read of these same "pricks" in the conversion of Paul.

Acts 9:4-5

4. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

It is the word of God that pricks the heart. Yes the spirit of God does the work, but the Spirit is like acid on the blade of the Word. First the Word is spoken into the situation, then it has effect.

A hidden Redeemer

How many people do you know who are as lost as the King in the tale of Esther? And what will you do about it?

The Sheep Gate

This gate was the first gate to be re-built, and the description of Nehemiah 3 starts and ends here. Lying to the North of Jerusalem, and close to the temple this was the gate most used by the priests. Its name comes from its purpose. It was here that the sheep destined for sacrifice in the temple were brought in to the city. It is therefore a natural step for the priests to begin their re-building in their work-place, so to speak.

Nehemiah 3:1

1. Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

Three key spiritual decisions are formed at this gate in our lives.

• Salvation
• Worship
• Leadership

Depending on where you are with Christ right now, the focus of those decisions differs, but these three questions remain, and must be dealt with up front. It is no coincidence that this is the first gate of Nehemiah.

Salvation

- because this was the sheep gate. Jesus described himself as the Shepherd, and we are the sheep.

John 10:7-9

7. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

In this light the first and most important decision we make is to follow Christ in the first place. This is the start of our Christian walk, even as this gate was the start of the re-building work.

Leadership

- because this first gate was taken on by the spiritual leaders of the city.

The priests lead from the front. Even the meaning of the high priest’s name is significant. Eliashib means, God will restore. Nehemiah came with the hand of God upon him, and passed on the vision to Eliashib, restoring by the power of God.
The question for us is either, how will we lead, or who will we let lead our lives? Really the question is one and
the same for you cannot lead until you are willing to follow.

Worship

- as that was the purpose of bringing in the sheep.

This is the sheep gate. The first step in re-building has to be here. We must be following the leadership of God, worshiping God, and leading others to him. This stronghold must be built up in order to encourage us in the work of re-building the other gates of the walls.